1. What is drawing you to teaching?
The kids. Seeing the kids succeed and reach different goals with my or others' help is a feeling to look forward to. Also watching them interact and create their own personal relationships during the year will also be an awesome thing to see. I look forward to teaching them different things but I also look forward to learning things from them as well.
2. Your dream teaching position?
My dream teaching position would be to teach in a kindergarten-3rd grade classroom in or near my hometown of West Bend. I hope to teach in a smaller city/school district where it is easy to get to know the entire community. I also hope that my classroom and school would be a very fun and welcoming place for these kids to be.
3. What do you believe learning, teaching and classrooms should look and feel like?
I think all 3 of these areas should be welcoming & safe above anything else for the kids who spend over 6 hours in them each day. That means not only having a welcoming teacher & classmates, but also having space for each individual to spread out and allow for learning to happen. I think that with a smaller classroom a student may feel cramped and not able to work at his/her best ability. A welcoming classroom to me, would include creativity and colors. You don't want the room to be too bright and stimulating however I want a classroom to feel bright & airy. I also believe that as the year goes on, the students' work should be displayed throughout the classroom. This shows them that their work is important and they have done a great job. As the year goes on, I hope to also get input from the students as to what they think would help them achieve their goals. If one student is motivated by a quiet reading corner, I would do my best to create that space for him/her & others. If another student has special needs, I would make sure everything that is accessible to every other student is also accessible to that student.
4. What should students and teachers be doing in the classroom or while learning?
As for teachers, I believe it all starts with what you want the students to know. Yes this brings in the standards & lessons of what they kids need to know, however this also includes skills and abilities past the standards that you hope your students know. An example of this could be the kids knowing what to do in different society situations. Going above and beyond the things the students "need" to know is an important job of the teacher. I also think an important duty of the teacher is having absolute belief in all of your students. Making sure that they know you believe in them & that they can succeed is important in self-esteem.
As for the students, I think working to their best ability is an important aspect of learning. The teacher should model this hard work in the hopes that they too can see the outcomes of working hard. I also think students should gain the ability to work with others. Again, by model from the teacher, students should work to communicate with their peers as much as possible whether that means for fun or for instruction purposes. This is a life skill that goes above and beyond the standards and is an important skill to have.
5.Technology's role, function, purpose, and frequency of use in your classroom
I will be honest and say that I am a technology adopter according to the article "From the Principal's Office: Adopting a Digital Disruptor Mindset to Transform Education". I didn't grow up in schools with Ipads or tablets and Smartboards were just being used during my high school years so I don't have much experience working in the school setting with technology other than computers. I haven't been shown all of the different tech forms that are now being used in schools today & if they are indeed motivating and teaching students. To be honest I still question why everyone says kids need to get off of technology and get outside to play and how at the same time, technology is becoming more important in schools. If a balance could be met, that would be great. From what I have seen recently in schools, not saying this is how it is everywhere, but the Ipads & other tools have been more of a reward to students and "play time" rather than being used for instruction purposes. Either these teachers haven't given students expectations when using these devices or if the teachers themselves aren't sure how to use the tools, but so far I haven't seen a huge positive function for the technology. As far as frequency with technology in my future classroom, I don't want to over use it yet I don't want to leave it out. I think for some content areas it will be more beneficial than others and to find that balance will be important.
Entry 2: Tell how your thinking has changed since entry one (1-3 paragraphs)
For most of the questions, my answers have not changed much. I still, and always have wanted to teach the young children. Seeing them at an age where they are discovering all sorts of things will be fun to see. Because they are so young and have little knowledge about certain things, I as a teacher will be able to guide and teach them into becoming the learners they will be for the rest of their school years. I hope to share my creativity and skills with my students and I anticipate to learn even a greater amount of things from my students. These kids have such great things to share now only with their peers but to me as well. I also believe my responsibilities in keeping a safe, enjoyable classroom will still be important. Throughout another one of my classes I have realized how important it will be to also learn about my students as individuals. Because schools are so diverse these days, learning about multiple cultures will be a necessity.
An area of my answers that has changed since my first entry would be the technology aspect of teaching. My previous thoughts about technology were a little iffy and I wasn't sure how I felt about having to use it in my classroom. Since we have completed some of the assignments in the class, my feelings have slightly changed about technology. I now see technology more as a tool in the classroom rather than just another distraction to the students. If used correctly, technology in the classroom can be very beneficial. Tools that I have thought to be beneficial include; QR codes, Skype/Skype in the Classroom, and Video recording teaching. These tools are beneficial for students to demonstrate their knowledge and create assignments and learn new things in differentiated and fun ways. This changes instruction into an interactive and hands on way.
Entry 3: What I Now Believe
From this technology class, I have learned a great deal of new and useful tools and techniques to use in the classroom. Although I still don't believe technology should be incorporated in every aspect of the learning experience, I do believe that there are great tools out there that can be beneficial to my students. Such tools that I think will be helpful to my students include; posters, slideshows, skype in the classroom, and many more. These tools, when used appropriately, can engage students and encourage them to use creativity for anything assignment. Before any technology is used in the classroom, I think it is very important to explain the safety tips and citizenship of using technology. Students need to know what to do and not to do while using technology. All in all, from this class I have learned and experienced using some of the tools I hope to use in the classroom and have my students use.
Entry 1:
1. What is drawing you to teaching?
The kids. Seeing the kids succeed and reach different goals with my or others' help is a feeling to look forward to. Also watching them interact and create their own personal relationships during the year will also be an awesome thing to see. I look forward to teaching them different things but I also look forward to learning things from them as well.
2. Your dream teaching position?
My dream teaching position would be to teach in a kindergarten-3rd grade classroom in or near my hometown of West Bend. I hope to teach in a smaller city/school district where it is easy to get to know the entire community. I also hope that my classroom and school would be a very fun and welcoming place for these kids to be.
3. What do you believe learning, teaching and classrooms should look and feel like?
I think all 3 of these areas should be welcoming & safe above anything else for the kids who spend over 6 hours in them each day. That means not only having a welcoming teacher & classmates, but also having space for each individual to spread out and allow for learning to happen. I think that with a smaller classroom a student may feel cramped and not able to work at his/her best ability. A welcoming classroom to me, would include creativity and colors. You don't want the room to be too bright and stimulating however I want a classroom to feel bright & airy. I also believe that as the year goes on, the students' work should be displayed throughout the classroom. This shows them that their work is important and they have done a great job. As the year goes on, I hope to also get input from the students as to what they think would help them achieve their goals. If one student is motivated by a quiet reading corner, I would do my best to create that space for him/her & others. If another student has special needs, I would make sure everything that is accessible to every other student is also accessible to that student.
4. What should students and teachers be doing in the classroom or while learning?
As for teachers, I believe it all starts with what you want the students to know. Yes this brings in the standards & lessons of what they kids need to know, however this also includes skills and abilities past the standards that you hope your students know. An example of this could be the kids knowing what to do in different society situations. Going above and beyond the things the students "need" to know is an important job of the teacher. I also think an important duty of the teacher is having absolute belief in all of your students. Making sure that they know you believe in them & that they can succeed is important in self-esteem.
As for the students, I think working to their best ability is an important aspect of learning. The teacher should model this hard work in the hopes that they too can see the outcomes of working hard. I also think students should gain the ability to work with others. Again, by model from the teacher, students should work to communicate with their peers as much as possible whether that means for fun or for instruction purposes. This is a life skill that goes above and beyond the standards and is an important skill to have.
5.Technology's role, function, purpose, and frequency of use in your classroom
I will be honest and say that I am a technology adopter according to the article "From the Principal's Office: Adopting a Digital Disruptor Mindset to Transform Education". I didn't grow up in schools with Ipads or tablets and Smartboards were just being used during my high school years so I don't have much experience working in the school setting with technology other than computers. I haven't been shown all of the different tech forms that are now being used in schools today & if they are indeed motivating and teaching students. To be honest I still question why everyone says kids need to get off of technology and get outside to play and how at the same time, technology is becoming more important in schools. If a balance could be met, that would be great. From what I have seen recently in schools, not saying this is how it is everywhere, but the Ipads & other tools have been more of a reward to students and "play time" rather than being used for instruction purposes. Either these teachers haven't given students expectations when using these devices or if the teachers themselves aren't sure how to use the tools, but so far I haven't seen a huge positive function for the technology. As far as frequency with technology in my future classroom, I don't want to over use it yet I don't want to leave it out. I think for some content areas it will be more beneficial than others and to find that balance will be important.
Entry 2: Tell how your thinking has changed since entry one (1-3 paragraphs)
For most of the questions, my answers have not changed much. I still, and always have wanted to teach the young children. Seeing them at an age where they are discovering all sorts of things will be fun to see. Because they are so young and have little knowledge about certain things, I as a teacher will be able to guide and teach them into becoming the learners they will be for the rest of their school years. I hope to share my creativity and skills with my students and I anticipate to learn even a greater amount of things from my students. These kids have such great things to share now only with their peers but to me as well. I also believe my responsibilities in keeping a safe, enjoyable classroom will still be important. Throughout another one of my classes I have realized how important it will be to also learn about my students as individuals. Because schools are so diverse these days, learning about multiple cultures will be a necessity.
An area of my answers that has changed since my first entry would be the technology aspect of teaching. My previous thoughts about technology were a little iffy and I wasn't sure how I felt about having to use it in my classroom. Since we have completed some of the assignments in the class, my feelings have slightly changed about technology. I now see technology more as a tool in the classroom rather than just another distraction to the students. If used correctly, technology in the classroom can be very beneficial. Tools that I have thought to be beneficial include; QR codes, Skype/Skype in the Classroom, and Video recording teaching. These tools are beneficial for students to demonstrate their knowledge and create assignments and learn new things in differentiated and fun ways. This changes instruction into an interactive and hands on way.
Entry 3: What I Now Believe
From this technology class, I have learned a great deal of new and useful tools and techniques to use in the classroom. Although I still don't believe technology should be incorporated in every aspect of the learning experience, I do believe that there are great tools out there that can be beneficial to my students. Such tools that I think will be helpful to my students include; posters, slideshows, skype in the classroom, and many more. These tools, when used appropriately, can engage students and encourage them to use creativity for anything assignment. Before any technology is used in the classroom, I think it is very important to explain the safety tips and citizenship of using technology. Students need to know what to do and not to do while using technology. All in all, from this class I have learned and experienced using some of the tools I hope to use in the classroom and have my students use.